Refrigerator construction



NOV- 24, 1953 LA MAR s. COOPER 2,660,037

REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 13, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l E l f Nov. 24, 1953 LA MAR s. COOPER REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 13, 1950 In uen tor Lamar 5, C ggper' Patented Nov. 24, 1953 1L- 'UNITI-:Denies PATENT- GFFICE nEFRiGERAToR CONSTRUCTION La `Mar""S. Cooper; Cedar Rapids,4 Iowa, assigner to Amana Refrigeration, Incl, Cedar Rapids, `Iowa,.afcorporation of Iowa A Application nqvember 13, 195e, serislno; 1951.231

The present linvention* relates" to* refrigerator structures. The invention is illustrated herein as applied to a frozen food storage cabinet, but itis ,applicable to all types of refrigerating machines whetherfof the frozen food typeor the higher temperature refrigerating type.` d n f An "object of the invention is the provision of arefrigerator cabinet having a cavity or recess yin its outer surface for mounting the motor-com,- pressor unit of the refrigeratingi-mechanism; whereby the exterior dimensions of the refrigerator need not be enlarged becausenof the unit, and the interior storage compartment need not be reduced inv size, and in which insulation having a lower K ,factor than normal is interposed in that portion of ther construction between the cavity and the interior compartment.V l Another object ofthefinvention is the pro-- Vision of a refrigerator having a novel, mounting of the condenser which forms part of the refrigerating apparatus. `1 Morespecically, an object of the invention is the provision of a'refrigferator havingnaj condenser mounted in a novel manner and *inv such a way as to `facilitate the passage of airroverthe condenser. Y .y

Another object of the invention is'the provision of a refrigerator having a condensercoil mounted on the back wall ofthe refrigerator and in which the condenser has horizontally arranged runs of tubing 4Vmounted on a louver plate in which the louver plate is disposed at anangle `to the vertical'whereby upwardly owing currents of air now through the louver plate and effectively c ool the condenser. Y p u Still another object is the pro-vision of a refrigerator having a condenser of the `character' just referred to, and having bumper means for engaging the wall of the room in which the refrigerator is placed for spacing the refrigerator from that wall to enable the currents of the air to readily now upwardly varound the runs of the condenser coil. n f y y A further object of the invention is the provision of novel supporting means for the motorcompressor unit of the refrigerating mechanism. Y n L With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrange` ment and vcombination ofthe various partsof my refrigeration construction, whereby the'objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claimsand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein "Figure 1 is a side view of a freezer employing z' claims.r (or ca -11s) 2 the present invention showing a portion of the freezer in vertical section.

Figure 2 is a View from the rear of the freezer as viewed from the right of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the freezer showing in detail the means for mounting the motor-compressor unit.

Figure 4 Vis a view from the right of Figure 3, but on a reduced scale relative to Figure 3.

Figure 5 isan enlarged detail view of a portion of the louver plateand condenser coil.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on line 6--6 of Figure 1. y

Figure 'I is a detailed View of a portion of the mounting means for the motor-compressor unit.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, numeral I2 indicates a frozen food storage cabinet,

as distinguished from what is commonly known as' adomestic refrigerator primarily used for storing unfrozenr foods. Although the invention is shown applied to a frozen food storage cabinet, it will be understood that it is also readily applicable to any mechanical or absorption type of refrigerator.

'I'he freezer l2 `includes a cabinet I4 having a plurality of vertical side walls, one of which, I6, is lthe rear wall, the other Walls being indicated generally by the numeral I8. The cabinet also includesa bottom wall 20. The4 cabinet is open at the top and is closed bya cover 22 hinged at 24 on brackets 2li.` The cabinet structure also includes foo-t'members 21 Withadjustable gliders 28.

The cabinet is made up of an outer case 29 which 4vis preferably, of sheet metal and an inner liner30 also of sheet metal. Insulation 32 is disposed between the outer case and liner, throughout the greater portion of the cabinet. The liner 30 defines a storage compartment of the freezer and Vthis storage. compartment is accessible through `the open top of the freezer. It will be understood thatthe cover 22. is also heat insulated.v- 4

A` refrigerating mechanism is provided comprising a motor-compressor` unit 34, an evaporator 36,. and a condenser 38. The evaporator 36 includestubing in thermal contact engagement with the liner 30 for the purpose of refrigerating the interior storage compartment. The parts of the refrigerating system are connected with suitable tubing, with a pressure reducing device between the condenser 33 and evaporator 36, neither the tubing or the pressure reducing device being shown..,, 7.

`.Alrecesscrcavity 4D `is `formed inthecabinet at the lower rear corner thereof. The outer case 29 includes a wall portion 42 disposed diagonally with respect to the rear wall and the bottom wall, which forms a recess which is inset with respect to the normal rectangular outline of the cabinet. The recess has an innermost surface 44 and end surfaces 56. The motor-compressor unit 34 is mounted in the cavity 40 for purposes that will be more fully explained'later. Because of the diagonal disposition of the surface d4 of the cavity, that surface is relatively close to the lowermost corner of the liner 3d and the storage' compartment, and in this reduced space, an excessive amount of heat would enter the storage compartment if the insulation, at this -point,was of the same insulating characteristics as inthe other parts of the cabinet.

tion of insulation indicated at i8 which is disposed between the surface 44 and the adjacent'- corner of the liner 3Q. This insulation 48 has a `lower K factor than the remainder of the insulation I6. It is understood thatthe K factor is thecoejcient of heat transfer, and insulation of a lower K factor has greater insulating qualities than insulation of a higherK factor. The portion of insulation 48 extends on opposite sides of the lower corner of storage compartment to an extent necessary to insure that the heat leakage into the cabinet atthis point is substantia'lly no greater than into other portions of the cabinet, even though the Vwall section is thinner. Insulation having a lower K factor is generally more expensive than insulation with a higher K factor, and it is desireable, therefore, to use as little of the lower K factorinsulation as possible.

The motor-compressor unit 34 is mounted in a position wherein a substantial portion of the unit'is disposed in the recess d!! so that the unit is positioned -asV much as possible within the outline contour of the cabinet. The length of the recess'lc is no greater thannecessary toconveniently accommodate the unit 3. Figures l and 2 show to best advantage the positioning of the unit 34 in the cavity.

The motor-compressor unit 3A may be a conventional or standard unit having a shell in which the motor and the compressor (not shown) are enclosed.Y The shell has circular end members 50, on each ofewhich is a mounting member indicated generally at 52 (Figure 3). Each mounting member 52 includes a pair of collar elements 54 and 55 which, when fitted together, form a collar or band encirclingthe end member. The element 555 includes anges 58 `and theelement 5d includes radially extending portions 60 and upwardly extending portions 52.

The flanges 58 and portions 60 are in substantial register, having aligned holes through -which bolts Eli-are inserted. The bolts are provided with nuts for clamping the collar elements 5d and 56 tightly on the end members. The upper ends of the portions 62 are provided with notches 66, which as illustrated in Figure '7, are disposed on opposite edges of the portions E2, the notches on opposite edges being offset vertically and the notches in each element forming disconnected segments of a helical groove.

Other mounting members are indicated at S8. A pair of such members are provided, one for each of the mounting members on the motorcompressor unit. Each mounting member 68 includes a pair of straps having upper straight portions which are i-ltted with their flat surfaces spot welded together, as indicated at,1.2.

Portions 10 are provided with vertically elongated slots 'I4 for receiving screws 'i6 for mounting the members. The outer case 29 in the rear wall I6 of the cabinet is provided with a plate 'I8 secured to the inner surface of the outer case. A heavy steel element is mounted on the plate 18. The screws 1S are inserted through the slots 1li and threaded into tapped holes in the element Bl! for mounting the members 68. Because of the elongated dimensions of the slots 14, the members 68 may be adjusted vertically within limits.

The straps making up the mounting members 68 diverge at'their lower portions, as indicated at 82, and their lowermost ends extend substantially vertically, as indicated at 84. The lower .i ends '84, l.as vviewed in Figure 8, are provided with Accordingly, I have provideda segment or pornotches 86, in each of its opposite edges, and these notches form disconnected segments of a helix, as` described in connection with the notches 66. The lower end portions S4 of the straps are disposed so asto Aregister with respective ones of the upwardly extending elements 62 of the mounting members on the unit 34. Helical springs 88 are threaded into the notches B6 and 85, as shown in Figure 3. The springs 88 thus yieldably support the motor-compressor unit 34 from the cabinet, absorbing the vibrations of the unit. It will be observed that one portion of each of the mounting members 82 extend into the recess 4u, so that the motor-compressor unit is disposed zvnith a substantial portion thereof in the recess Mounted on the rearsurface of the rear wall I6 is a-louver plate indicatedgenerally` at 90, having-horizontally extending elements 92 stamped therefrom. The louver plate 90 has portions 9d at the ends extending at right angles to the main surface of the plate, the extended edges being secured to thecabinet by any desired means. The main portion of the louver plate 90 as best shown in Figure l, is inclined from the vertical, although adjacent the vertical. The louver elements 92 are stampedvfrom the plate 90- in a Vdirection oppositevthat from which the plane of the plate 90 is. inclined from vertical. The plate 90 forms a duct with the wall of the refrigerator, the duct being yopen at the top, as best shown in Figure 6.

The condenser 38 is in the form of a coil having a plurality of horizontal runs 95. These runs 96 are preferably braced onto the inner surface of respective louver elements `92.

nswill be observed in Figure '1. the louver plate Si] and thus the condenser coil 38 are disposed in` a plane that is inclined slightly from the verticaland it will be noted that the upper end of the plate and condenser is spaced a greater distance from the refrigerator cabinet than the lower end. Air current are thus permitted to flow upwardlv between the condenser 3% and the wall |06 which is a wall of the room in which the refrigerator cabinet is disposed. The air currents between the condenser 38 and the wall |06 iiow through the spaces between the louver elements 92 and into theduct formed bv the plate 90. The portion 0f air coming in contact w1th any one of the runs 96 does not normally come in contact with the other runs above that run. Fresh increments of air are applied to each of the runs 96 oftheV coil and thus dissipation of heat from the condenser 38 is most effective; 'ljhe louver elements 92 are of substantial vertical dimension, .whereby the air in passing over and coming in engagement with the louver elements 92 is *ofV greatereffect in dissipating the heat fromthe condenserv coi1.96,- because of that vertical dimension being substantially greater than the vertical dimension of the runs of the coil. Because of the inclination of the condenser, portions of the air between the condenser and the wall ll rise substantially to the top of the condenser, whereby relatively cold air is directed into engagement with the uppermost runs Sli of the condenser coil, without having first passed over the lower runs 95. Thereby, all of the runs S6 are subjected individually to increments of cold air.

It will also be noted that the inclination of the louver elements e2, being opposite to the inclination of the plane of the condenser 38, is effective for baliling the air through spaces between the louver elements 92 and between the runs 32 of the condenser coil.

Bumper elements Hi8 are mounted in the mounting bracket 26 adjacent the upper end of the condenser 38. These bumper elements |08 are adapted to engage the wall 565 and space the cabinet from the wall [lili to provide the necessary space between the condenser 33 and the wall for the passage of air. It will be noted that the motor-compressor unit 3@ is disposed within the limits defined by the innermost surface of the recess or cavity i2 and the outermost surface of the condenser 38. Thus the refrigerator may be positioned closely adjacent the wall H35 and it is not necessary to position the unit outside the general outline of the whole refrigerator cabinet. It is also not necessary to reduce the space of the storage compartment in order to position theY unit within the outline of the cabinet. Furthermore the heat insulating effect of the insulation of the cabinet, including the reduced space between the cavity Llll and the interior storage space, is substantially uniform throughout the cabinet.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not Wish to be limited thereto, since many modications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by the claims appended hereto to cover any such modifications or substitutions of equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having an interior compartment to be cooled and refrigerating mechanism for cooling said compartment including a motor-compressor unit, a downwardly extending mounting member secured to said cabinet, an upwardly extending mounting member secured to said unit, the extended ends of said mounting members having vertically spaced notches in each of opposite edges thereof, the notches in each mounting member forming disconnected segments of a helix, and a helical spring threaded in the notches of said mounting members, said spring being operative for yieldably supporting said unit.

2. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having side walls and a bottom wall, and an interior compartment to be cooled, said refrigerator also having refrigerating mechanism for cooling said compartment including a motor-compressor unit, and a condenser, said condenser being mounted on one of said side Walls in generally vertically disposed position and in laterally spaced relation with respect to the wall, said one side wall having a cavity in its outer surface adjacent the bottom thereof, said unit being mounted with a substantial portion thereon disposed in said cavity, a mounting member secured to each end of said unit, each mounting means having a pair of laterally spaced, upwardly extending elements, a pair of upper mounting members secured to said one wall above said cavity and extending downwardly below the upper limit of the cavity, each upper mounting member having a pair of laterally spaced elements in substantial register with the respective elements of the mounting members on the unit, one element of each mounting member extending into said cavity, each of said elements having vertically spaced notches in each of opposite edges thereof, the notches of each element forming disconnected segments of a helix, and a helical spring threaded in the notches of each of the registered elements, whereby said springs yieldably support said unit in such position that a substantial portion thereof is disposed in said cavity and the unit is within the limits of the innermost surface of the cavity and the outermost surface of the condenser.

LA MAR S. COOPER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,664,171 Hicks Mar. 27 1928 1,995,527 Watt Mar. 26,l 1935 2,167,442 Alsing July 25, 1939 2,280,554 Steenstrup Apr. 21 1942 2,509,591 Gifiard May so 1950 2,509,609 Phillip May so 1950 2,509,614 Phillip May 30 1950 2,524,226 Higham oct. s, o 

